Virgin Islands officials said 10 homeowners were improperly served liens in FEMA-funded repair program

Virgin Islands officials said on June 13, 2019, that 10 homeowners in the Emergency Home Repair Virgin Islands program had been improperly served construction liens by subcontractor TJ Sutton Enterprises.

Government House said the North Carolina-based company worked on repairs to homes damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria and was involved in a nonpayment dispute with Citadel Recovery Services, a subcontractor to prime contractor AECOM.

Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Daryl Griffith said the liens were wrongfully filed and that Citadel had said they would be removed from the homeowners' properties within 30 days.

Officials also said none of Sutton's invoices had been received by VIHFA for payment. According to the statement, AECOM said some Citadel invoices had not met its standards.

The administration said FEMA payment delays had slowed the flow of funds to prime contractors in the home-repair program, but that prime contractors remained responsible for paying their subcontractors.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/administration-pushes-back-against-home-repair-subcontractor-for-attempting-to-place-liens-on-homeowners/